Amsterdam Light Festival 2018-2019

Amsterdam Light Festival is an annual festival in the Netherlands that presents high-quality and innovative light art in Amsterdam’s vibrant city centre. The seventh edition of the festival will take place from 29 November 2018 till 20 January 2019. Once again, Amsterdam’s world-renowned canals, historic sites and various waterfronts offer visitors a unique way to experience light artworks. Artistic director Lennart Booij: “Amsterdam Light Festival brings people from different backgrounds together in the dark winter times. We aim to involve, inspire and enlighten visitors, creators and partners with light art”. For this reason, the festival invites creators from around the world - from artists to designers, engineers to architects, and professionals to students - to submit a concept for a light artwork. An international jury, together with the festival’s curatorial team, will review the concepts and select approximately 35 artists to create an artwork.

THEMEFor its 2018-2019 edition, Amsterdam Light Festival is looking for creative interpretations of the theme The Medium is the Message. A modern day evaluation of this famous one-liner raises questions about the powerful influence of (new) media. And when it comes to light as a medium, several specific, interesting issues come into play. For instance, what kinds of messages does the medium light transmit nowadays? In an era of fake news and alternative facts, can light maintain its objectivity? How does it communicate in a way that no other medium can? How does light shape or transform (digital) space? How does light extend and influence our reality? And how does it structure and transform our individual lives and society as a whole?

Amsterdam Light Festival presents two exhibitions in Amsterdam’s city centre. For the Water Exhibition, we are looking for monumental artworks positioned on, above or in the water that connect with the city, its inhabitants, and its visitors. For the Land Exhibition, we would like to see artworks that you can experience from up close, walk through, connect with and react to.

Please fill out the form on www.amsterdamlightfestival.com/en/cfc to request the full Artist Briefing and submit your proposal through our online portal. We charge €35 (including Dutch VAT) for each individual submission. The fee is to be paid via PayPal and is non-refundable. If you have any questions, check the FAQ section on our website or send an e-mail to cfc@amsterdamlightfestival.com.

The deadline for submitting your proposal is 17 January 2018 (16:00 CET). Late entries will not be accepted.

Upcoming Events

The sixth edition of Amsterdam Light Festival takes place from 27 November 2018 until 20 January 2019. This year’s festival brings a fair share of surprises. Over 40 artworks and installations of artists, designers and architects from home and abroad will light up the city center of Amsterdam.

During Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, the fair is full to bursting point with the latest innovations within interior design and lighting for both homes and public spaces. New products, new materials, new knowledge, new trends and new environmental and technological solutions are displayed in a both informative and inspirational manner.

Outstanding experts from the LED community led high level conferences that provided the answers to the questions relating to LED advances and make LED innovations fit for the challenges of the future. Various guest speakers from public institution and from management of leading companies in the industry will be invited to give insightful speeches at this important event.